Party Planning is my middle name. Okay, so it's not. And thank goodness, because that would be a long middle name (you hear that, Chef Oliv...
The only thing better than crafting a gingerbread house with your kids is building a gingerbread house for your kids.
Into the woods ... in the classroom!
Today I'm sharing all the details from our church Christmas program we put together a few weeks ago! It includes the script, the props, and all the details from the night.
Roar! VBS Craft Ideas
9 Lovely Trees of Friendship Ready and Waiting Positioning collaged birds Sketching out their Klimt style trees with p...
A one-pot recipe for creamy orzo pasta with mushrooms, spinach, and plenty of Parmesan cheese.
Are you planning to host a candy land theme party? Check this tutorial on how to make a giant lollipop out of pool noodles but upgraded into a truly eye-candy prop.
Fun Minute to Win It Games for Christmas Parties. Hilarious Family Christmas party games with quick 1 minute challenges for Kids & Adults
Fool-proof, buttery garlic knots that come together in less than 20 min – it doesn’t get easier than that!
Photo Booth Castle for Highlands Kids: We wanted a photo-booth for our Summer Blast (VBS) promotion day. Our theme is more or less medieval, so I thought a castle might be fun. This is how I made Castle Kids.
Bruges at Christmas time is beyond magical and feels like a fairytale. This post will take you through what Bruges is like in December and the 10 best things to do during the holiday season. #bruges #beligum #christmas #europe
Make your Christmas party extra fun with these hilarious Christmas party games that will have everyone laughing! Perfect for adults, kids, office, school, and more.
Have you picked winter wonderland theme party this year? In that case, you're right on trend! Winter wonderland theme is an all-time favorite for the winter season and used for all sorts of parties -
Life of an Architect present suggestions that will please even the most particular and demanding of architects
Jill of Homemade by Jill is sharing her templates for an appliqued “quiet book.” Run over to her blog and get them. This original post needed some expansion so we have added some…
Looking for romantic homemade gifts for boyfriend? We prepare 30+ most romantic gift ideas for boyfriend that guys really want. Check the post below.
Adults will actually use, appreciate and love all of these!
The Nightmare Before Christmas is an animated dark fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It's a perfect theme for Halloween decor. Check these ideas out!
1-2-3 Come Travel Around The World With Me! Woo Hoo! Having spent over 200 hours researching & creating, plus a small fortune on graphics designing things, I’m so excited to post this jumbo “labor of love”, "Travels Around The World" packet, which features the awesome talents of 38 clip artists! This super-fun packet is extremely versatile, as everything stands alone, so you can mix & match creating a unit that is tailored specifically for your class, or use pieces and parts with lessons you already have implemented. I think my students, favorite part of our Travels Around the World is making the cereal box suitcase, which can be done in class or for homework. The sky's the limit of how you want to design them. We add 2 file folders to make a drop down interactive "briefcase" of sorts, which includes a pocket for their passports, tickets and boarding passes. The extra files are a great way to keep everything neat & organized and provide space for them to glue on a variety of activities that we do. My kiddos absolutely LOVE collecting the "suitcase stamps/stickers" to decorate with. They get a few to start out, then receive more as we travel to the various countries. Others I use as a motivational & behavior modification incentive, which is very successful. Another huge hit is making a passport. There are 4 options, including a passport specifically for "Christmas Around The World" traveling, as well as a huge variety of passport stamps, which they also enjoy collecting. The train tickets and plane, bus, & boat boarding passes. are also a huge hit. Via a letter, students are invited to come travel with the gingerbread man, who makes a speedy tour guide. "Gin" keeps them apprised of places they should visit by sending postcards. I had an absolute blast designing these from real photographs & stamps from those countries. There are 3 from each country, as well as "color me" postcards, so that students can practice "point of view" writing in a fun way. A set of gingerbread-themed posters announce where children will be traveling and how they will get there. The 6 countries included in this packet are: USA, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Italy & Germany. I've included a variety of maps, which come in color to use as posters, plus black & white for students. They come labeled & unlabeled, so you can use them as an assessment tool as well. My personal favorite activity, is the "Snap & Scrap" journal, with a Christmas-themed page, as well as a generic counterpart. I've included several pages of interesting information about how each country celebrates Christmas, should you want to do the "Christmas Around the World" theme. The "snap" part, is a camera craft featuring a lens "booklet", with pictures specific to that country. You can opt to do just the camera(s), or hinge them with a piece of tape to the "scrap" page, so that it flips over to reveal the information underneath. Each country also comes with factual information, which is incorporated in the "Fan Of Fun Facts For _________" craftivity. The title is a double play on words, for the craft opens like a fan, and students quickly become "fans" of these super-interesting facts. Later, check comprehension by playing "Name That Country?" by reading a fact and having students tell what country it came from. "I Spy A Country" is another game you can play to help reinforce map skills. Teachers jot down 3-5 clues on the poster, then students write down their dated-answer on their worksheet. X number of correct answers and they receive a "super spy" stamp for their suitcase. I've also packed in a lot of travel-themed writing prompts, such as making an itinerary, which provides a vocabulary building opportunity. Students can also do a "Sightseeing Check It Out Then Check It Off" list, flag booklet, and travel journal. There are several options for the travel journals as well, from a "color me" text it page, to a cut & glue class-made book. They are different enough so that you can do them all, or pick & choose what's appropriate for your kiddos. The beauty of this jumbo packet is that it's very versatile, so you can mix & match things to do individually, as a whole group, with a partner, in small groups, or for homework. The projects can also supplement other geography activities you already have implemented. Besides social studies, many items practice a variety of other standards like graphing, weather, telling time, comparing & contrasting & research, with a bit of math tossed in for good measure. There are also a variety of ways to use the packet. Teachers can give the information, or students can pick a country and research it independently. The "Travel Bucks" are a fun way for students to give their presentations, as they become "travel agents", who share highlights about their country, in the hopes that their fellow classmates will use their travel cash to buy a trip from them. Top sales certificates & suitcase brag tags add to the fun, and are a wonderful incentive. An easy-peasy writing prompt for any age, is the "ginger-gram", where students fill in the blanks with a country they would like to live in, as well as one they would not. Older students can explain why. Another simple writing activity is the "Travel Quilt" craft, which practices adjectives in a unique way. Even younger kiddos can do this, and completed projects make an awesome bulletin board. The "Peace is in our hands" craft, is also quick & easy, with lovely results making a terrific hallway display. This craftivity really helps children wrap their heads around the "big picture" of their "personal geography" and their cut out hand prints add that keepsake, finishing touch. I've included a poster for the center of your display, as well as a suitcase sticker kiddos can earn upon completion. Because my kiddos are learning about seasons, weather and appropriate clothing to wear, I designed the "Pack It Up" suitcase craftivity; where they color, cut & glue various clothes suitable for a particular country, to a "suitcase" page; while older students simply list the items they want to take. The suitcase opens to reveal several pages of the different things they packed for the various countries that they visited. Besides a “Christmas Around the World” theme, you can use this unit all year long, as I have matching generic counterparts. Start whenever you want, then in December, board the “Holiday Express” & add the activities of how these countries celebrate Christmas. Lessons are easily diversified for various classroom abilities & grade levels. Simply pick what’s appropriate for your kiddos. "Travel Tweets" are also an interesting way to get students enthusiastic about writing, as is the "Welcome To Our House" booklet, "Airport Adventures" and "Whooooo Do You Want To Travel With?" color-me worksheets. Besides black & white versions for students, I’ve included colorful templates, so you can quickly make samples to share. There are also graphs, Venn diagrams, posters, a song, and some worksheets, which can also be used as assessment tools. As you can see there's a ton of fun for you to choose from including some puzzles. These come in color for an independent center, as well as BW so kiddos can make their own, as they practice recognizing & sequencing numbers from 1-10, or skip counting by 10s to 100. Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look. Travels Around The World. Today's featured FREEBIE comes from the packet and is a "Merry Christmas From Around The World" poster and coloring card, which includes an alphabetical list of how 28 countries say "Merry Christmas" , with 4 links to other websites with more countries. Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. My feet have hit the floor running, as there is much to do, and not enough time in the day to get it all done. But I will endeavor to slow my pace and enjoy the journey, making sweet memories, as we decorate our blessed home for Christmas. Wishing you and yours a special day. "Maybe Christmas" he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more!" -Dr. Seuss From "The Grinch"
Well, I think I pulled it off. And since there's no reason for me to hoard my design, I thought I'd share it with ya'll, and hopefully you can get some good use out of it! I've made them available in both black/white and in color. You can download the full-resolution images here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gxj3ufpruex7ou8/AACGobtEsKEDjR0y9Jje-vnHa?dl=0 or http://s737.photobucket.com/user/jomadivis/library/UP%20House I got mine printed at Staples. The original image is HUGE, so you could get it printed on poster board if you wanted to, and make a massive version. I used a hot glue gun to assemble it. Also, there is purposefully a hole in the bottom, to make it easier to string the balloons through the roof. You can easily cover it up if you don't like the way it looks by tracing around the bottom of the house once it's finished:) ALSO, I RECOMMEND WAITING TO GLUE THE BOTTOM FLAPS TOGETHER TILL VERY LAST! (Otherwise, you're going to have one heck of a time putting the roof on. Just sayin'). If you're wondering how heavy it was... Around 1 1/2 oz. And if you're wondering how many balloons it takes to lift 1 1/2 oz... It takes about 9, 11-inch balloons filled with helium. We used ten, and it soared even with a bit of extra weight on it! So be careful, cuz one little slip and your cute little UP house could be on it's way to Paradise Falls! It takes some brain work, putting it all together. Unfortunately, I didn't number the flaps or color coat them, or make it in any way easy to follow. I apologize for that, but I did make a little map that will HOPEFULLY help! If you have any questions on the assembly though, just let me know:) Good luck and enjoy! I received an inquiry about the A pieces connecting to house section #3. There are two crease marks missing, that will make ALL the difference in fitting them together: First off, there needs to be two bends on this piece. Straight across from where the blue siding ends on each side. (I purposefully did NOT make a crease line, because I didn't like the look of a black line through the fish scale siding, but it's kind of a necessary step!) And another bend on the top line of the white siding. The second error I made is this: there should be a crease line like so: (I penciled it in). Then bend it under. And this is how they fit together: Hope that helps! SECOND FIX! Hi there! I finally got to putting another little house together, and found that uhhhh yeah... #7 is a piece of work! I have no idea how I ever got it to work the first time around, but I'll show you what I did to fix it, and have updated the printable version as well. First: I snipped the whole thing in half, like so. And then made a little slice on the bottom left piece (if you look closely you can see it). Then I slid it right into place. The other piece I glued to the inside, just on the scalloped edge along the bottom so it leaves room to slide the roof between the siding and the #7 roof pieces. It should look something like this: And then all you have to do is put the roof on, it's not perfect (nothing about this little house IS perfect, I'm not a professional-anything, but it's still cute all the same!) I hope that clears things up, and I'm SO sorry for the confusion/frustration. That really did not work the way it was supposed to:) REMEMBER TO USE THE LINK TO DOWNLOAD FULL-RESOLUTION IMAGES! https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gxj3ufpruex7ou8/AACGobtEsKEDjR0y9Jje-vnHa?dl=0 or http://s737.photobucket.com/user/jomadivis/library/UP%20House
Make the countdown to Christmas awesome with these advent calendar fillers for teenage girls and boys. Fun gift ideas they will acutally like.
Here we go ... the countdown to Christmas! My 8 year old daughter is expecting her Elf on the Shelf (Rose) to be on point this season so...
This is the easiest side dish - Roasted Garlic Green Beans are a simple way to make green beans and so flavorful with lots of fresh garlic. It's the perfect holiday side dish but it goes great with any meal!
This is a dish I regularly cook for friends. All the work is done in advance and then it’s just into the baking tray and into the oven when you’re ready
This is the label I made for my Daughters Mandrake costume. You can see the costume here, craftylilthing.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-little-mandrake.html And here craftylilthing.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-little-mandrake.html And I used it for a miniature mandrake I crocheted for a swap. You can see a picture in this post. craftylilthing.blogspot.com/2009/05/reducio-sock-swap-gif... Please feel free to use my label. I would love to see a picture of your costume, craft,... Just leave me a link. :)
You absolutely loved the DIY upcycled paper flower chandelier from the above, but I got a lot of requests to show how we made the green garland in the photo as well. I will say, making the garland out of paper was one of our smarter moves as we can now use it for multiple […]
Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots – Caramelized in a sweet and sticky garlic honey Balsamic glaze, these roasted carrots are the perfect side dish for your Sunday roast or an easy side for a hol…
This post contains affiliate links. Updated June 2022 An excellent Hogwarts letter is the key piece of a Harry Potter surprise treasure box. I knew I wanted to do it up, to make a really cool replica compared to the movie props, so I searched high and low to find the best projects, and I
Also called a Tyrolean hat, the Alpine hat is the perfect accessory for an Oktoberfest Party! These hats come in a variety of styles and are used by German, Austrian and Swiss people. This cute paper version is so simple to make!
Servings: 4 - 5 people Calories: 264 kcal Ingredients: Pumpkin: 600 g / 1.2 lb pumpkin (after peeling), cut into 3cm / 1.25" cubes (Note 1) 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper Dressing: 2.5 tbsp / 50 ml extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp honey Salt and pepper Salad: 1/4 cup / 35g pine nuts (Note 2) 150 g / 5 oz baby spinach leaves (4 handfuls) 60 g / 2 oz feta , crumbled (or more!!) Instructions Preheat oven to 220C/430F (standard) or 200C/390F (fan/convection). Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 - 10 minutes until golden but not mushy. (Note 3) Loosen pumpkin with egg flip (it can adhere as it cools), then if serving salad at room temperature, leave to cool. Shake Dressing in a jar. Taste and adjust to taste. I like it a bit sharp because it balances out the flavours in this salad. Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and it smells nutty. Remove pine nuts from skillet as soon as it's ready. Place Spinach in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of dressing then toss. Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then GENTLY BRIEFLY toss just to disperse the feta. (If you toss vigorously, the feta can make it look messy). Transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing (dressing doesn't stay on baby spinach well, so worth drizzling at end). Serve!
Let's make this holiday season one to remember with these fun and easy Christmas games for kids that they will LOVE.
Scrapbooking, card making, die cutting, stamping
